


At the End of the War

by StrawhatsAndDelibirds



Series: Femslash February 2020 [27]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/F, Femslash February, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:14:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23960629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrawhatsAndDelibirds/pseuds/StrawhatsAndDelibirds
Summary: Once the bloodshed has come to an end, a peaceful future can be forged.
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/Bernadetta von Varley
Series: Femslash February 2020 [27]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1620421
Comments: 3
Kudos: 36





	At the End of the War

She had to wonder how such a tiny little thing could be so heavy. It was metal, but it was an accessory. It wasn’t supposed to weigh anything. You were barely supposed to notice it except when your other hand brushed it and you got butterflies because you remembered it was there. Yet as her fingers brushed it in her pocket, it made her feel like she was carrying a desk on her back. 

Edelgard had been with her for a long time now. They got together in school, and they were still together now that the war was over. They hadn’t spent as much time together as they had in the past. Or at least not as much as they had in school, but they both knew how much effort it took to lead a country to war. 

She had hoped that things would’ve cleared up a little more after the war, but no such luck. Turns out there’s still a lot of rebuilding to do on a lot of different levels. It was long, and even now it felt like they had more to do. Her trips up to the Imperial Capital were full of interruptions, and she was starting to feel in the way.

Edelgard always did her best, but she was always being drug off by Hubert to discuss important matters. She understood, being emperor had a lot more responsibilities than someone like her. She barely had to be there to monitor the reforming of the church. There were a lot more people like Mercedes who were willing to help mould the church into something more welcoming and forgiving. A lot of days she felt she was only there symbolically than to actually do anything important. 

Her finger brushed the ring in her pocket and she felt all the heavier. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. This could’ve worked before all this happened, and Edelgard had all this added responsibility of rebuilding. But now Bernadetta had to accept the fact that she was just in the way. Someone like her didn’t have a grand plan for the future, and she’d only get in Edelgard’s way. 

But she didn’t want to give up on her. She might not’ve had a grand plan for the future, but there was one thing she was certain on. And that was that she was going to stay by her side until the end and they were going to see the future Edelgard wanted happen together. All this time Edelgard had been ambitious, and fought for the future that she wanted, and it was time that Bernie did the same. 

She clutched the ring in her pocket and thought of the day that they both stood on that altar together and became each other’s brides. They both loved each other, and Bernie wasn’t going to let anything stand in her way! 

Taking a deep breath in, she pushed the door open to the main chamber that Edelgard stayed in. There may have been a thousand eyes on her, but right now she didn’t care. This was about her and Edelgard, and not a single soul out there was going to stop her. 

“Edelgard! I need to talk to you!” It was bold, and incredibly informal in front of people that no doubt cared deeply about their Emperor being addressed properly. She would accept the scoldings. 

But there was no answer. The room was empty, safe Ferdinand who stood in the middle of the room with his arms crossed in annoyance. Oh no she didn’t upset him, did she? Ferdinand cared about that sort of thing and he’d definitely give her a talking to. And Edelgard wasn’t here to fight with him over this. 

“Oh, Bernadetta. You don’t know where Lady Edelgard is either? That’s strange. Here I thought she had run off for a secret rendez-vous with her girlfriend.” He hummed. “You don’t know where she’s run off to either, do you.”

“I kinda came over unannounced. I was worried that I was going to interrupt an important meeting. She’s been having a lot of them lately.” Ferdinand gave her an odd look. He looked upset. He wasn’t going to yell at her for doing something so rude was he. If he did that would be fair because she would definitely be overstepping a boundary and being minister of religion didn’t mean she could bust into any meeting she felt like. 

“What do you mean Important Meetings? If she’s having important meetings then I should know what’s going on. I’m the Prime Minister. This is the first I’ve heard of these Important Meetings.” Oh no, was she not supposed to say anything? She thought that he would’ve known about them for sure! “I bet it has something to do with Hubert being so scarce. I should’ve known that dastard was up to something.” 

“I-I’m sure its something they just didn’t think was important enough to tell you. Hubert isn’t really-” -No that was a lie. Hubert would keep secrets and tell lies. Not maliciously, but he always seemed up to something. “Edelgard would keep you in the know.”

“Just like she did with the Flame Emperor. Honestly they both can be such a pain. I’m going to have some words with them when they get back. I’m not leaving here until they do.”

“I don’t think it’s anything important. Because they would’ve told us, right?” She was starting to lose confidence. She didn’t know what this whole secret was, and she never really gave it much thought before. But now it sat uneasily in her stomach, Ferdinand had to feel the same way. 

“Regardless of how important it is, they’ve chosen us to be their partners. They’re supposed to share their burdens with us. We’re a team and they’re not in this alone.” It made sense, but it did make her feel worse about all this. She knew about these meetings for so long, and never once did she think to ask what they were about. She wasn’t being as good a partner as she should. 

Though before her anxieties could pull her any deeper, she heard doors open and shut from the room behind her. She’d move out of the way so they could enter. Whatever it was, they sounded triumphal. Maybe some new recruits that were coming to brag about the briggand encampment or beast they took down? She’d seen a lot of soldiers pass through here. Though she supposed it was a little odd given the war was over, and they should be reporting to Caspar’s brother not directly to Edelgard. 

Regardless, she’d move out of the way so they could enter. Ferdinand stood his ground, probably hoping that Edelgard or Hubert would walk through that door. There was so much commotion out there that she couldn’t tell if either of them were even in there. 

Until she heard her voice from the other side of the door. She couldn’t tell if her heart fluttered out of excitement or nerves. The ring seemed to burn in her hand. She had been so gung ho about this, but Edelgard only showing up now made the task ahead seem even more impossible than it ever was. 

The door opened, and to Bernadetta’s shock, Edelgard dressed in the same regalia she wore during the war. The armor and an axe in hand, the same as when they took their victory on that day. She looked exhausted, but the same look on her face as when she finally conquered whatever that beast Rhea had been. 

“And just where have you two been?! I should’ve suspected something the moment you started sneaking around behind my back, Hubert. You’ve both gone off and done something reckless. I don’t know exactly what it was you’ve done, but I know that look. What in Sothis’ name have you gotten yourselves into.” Ferdinand scolded. “And I had to find out from poor Bernadetta that you’ve both been having important meetings without me, the Prime Minister! Honestly!” 

“I had unfinished business to attend to. It’s over and finally we can rest easy.” Edelgard said, walking past him to sit down on her throne. 

“If it was unfinished business, then why did we all celebrate that the war was over?! It clearly was not! And who was there even left to fight?! Did we not rid ourselves of all our enemies?!” Ferdinand was right. The war was over and there was really no one else opposing her. Claude didn’t seem the type to start a war, but it would be the best time because Almyra was still in good condition and they were in the middle of rebuilding. She didn’t know a lot about the politics side of war, but it seemed like it’d be a good strategy. 

“The enemy was not the countries, but my own. They’ve been festering in the darkness for too long and needed to be dealt with. They would have eventually grown into a threat, so I eliminated them before they could be a real threat.”

“I could’ve helped.” She didn’t mean to speak up. It was out of line and she wasn’t really a great fighter, but she did have lots of experience fighting now. 

Edelgard’s eyes went wide as she looked at her. She must not’ve seen her since she wasn’t actively starting a fight with her. At least not until now. 

“Bernadetta… It’s not like I didn’t want your help. You’ve helped me enormously through the years. I just didn’t want to further burden you. You’ve done more than enough and I couldn’t bear the thought of dragging you further into this mess with me.” 

“But you’re my girlfriend. You’ve always been there for me when I needed it. You’ve supported me through so much. You’ve helped me overcome so many awful things. I should’ve been there to help you do the same.” Tears stung in her eyes. She couldn’t stop herself from approaching the throne. “I know I’m not the best at really anything. You could find so many people that are better than me at anything. But we’re supposed to share the burden together! That’s what girlfriends do!”

The silence in the room was smothering, but regardless she kept walking until she was right in front of her throne. It was weird, because she felt both nervous and confident. She knew everything that she said was right, but there was still a part of her that continued to be herself despite knowing the facts. 

“I, you’re right, Burnadetta. I acted very selfishly. I suppose I was so afraid of losing you after all I’ve already lost to them, that I forgot that you would be affected should anything have happened to me. I shouldn’t have let my fear dictate my actions. I’m sorry.” 

“Well, maybe we’ll have better luck as wives.” If she didn’t do so now, she might never work up the courage to do this again. 

“What?” She held out her hand, revealing the ring that she had held tightly within her grip this whole time. It was a little sweaty now, but this was the best that she could do. 

“Let’s work together better as wives. If, that’s okay with you.” She probably didn’t want to now. She put so much time into beating an enemy that she had for a long time and then here she was ruining it by yelling at her. She wasn’t sure if she’d want to marry anyone like that. 

“It’s funny, I was planning to ask you the same now that all this has been dealt with. You’re sure you’re willing to marry a selfish fool like myself.” She couldn’t help but throw herself at her and hug her. Her armor was uncomfortable, and she might’ve dropped the ring. But right now none of that mattered. What mattered was that despite everything about who she was, she finally found someone who loved her as much as she loved them. 

And they were going to get married. 


End file.
